Having
been laid up recently with my old sciatic nerve complaint, I've had
occasion to read a bunch of books. I read the latest Michael Connolly,
which, like all his others, is terrific. Connolly is the Jerry Seinfeld
of legal thriller authors. Not that he's funny. On the contrary, there
are very few laughs in any of Connolly's books, whether they are part of
the Harry Bosch or Mickey Haller series. No, what I mean is that
Connolly, like Seinfeld, can take nothing and make it entertaining. Much
of Connolly's interest is with PROCEDURE, i.e. the "crime book" that
Bosch painstakingly develops with each new case or the courtroom
maneuvers that Haller either follows or short circuits in his cases.
Connolly spends a lot of time delving into procedures and therein lies
his art. I believe I read that Harry Bosch will become a TV character in
an upcoming series. I can only hope that Larry David is the producer!
As enjoyable as The Gods of Guilt
was, the book that has really captivated me and made me almost glad to
be painfully bedridden (note: the preceding phrase was a gross
exaggeration and a cheap attempt to gain sympathy on the part of the
author; pay it no heed!) is pictured above.
I have enjoyed Bill Bryson's writing for many years. Starting with his signature work, A Walk in the Woods,
in which he describes his failed attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail,
continuing with his mostly humorous examination of Australia, In a Sunburned Country, and his remarkably thorough A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bryson
combines the doggedness of a master researcher with the wit of Mark
Twain and the storytelling ability and dedication to truth of Doris
Kearns Goodwin. The result is always an appetizing melange of hard facts
blended with hilarious or mind-boggling anecdotes. Reading Bryson is
like attending the class of the best teacher you ever had. Despite your
best efforts, you learn stuff and have a good time doing it.
In One Summer, America 1927,
Bryson covers in depth some of the most memorable and newsworthy events
in modern American history, all of which happened in the summer of
1927. Each of his key events took on a life much larger than its own and
several foretold of the modern America we would come to know in our
lifetimes. Most of the events (the Lindbergh flight for example) you
know about, at least in passing. The beauty of this book is in the
interesting details Bryson provides and the connections he draws between
these events. Playing key roles in this book are Babe Ruth, Henry and
Edsel Ford, "Silent Cal" Coolidge, Jack Dempsey, Al Capone, and a host
of other famous and obscure players who were prominent for one reason or
another that remarkable summer. South Shore residents will be
thoroughly captivated by Bryson's revelations on the infamous
Sacco-Vanzetti case, including his research on the Bridgewater Police
Chief who first had them arrested. Great stuff and timely given the
national debate over what to do with the remaining Guantanamo detainees.
I
had the pleasure of meeting Bryson once. He was teaching at Dartmouth
for a time and Ada and I attended a talk he gave one night. He was
exactly as he seems to be on the pages of his books: funny,
professional, and interesting.
I highly recommend this book.
That's
it for now. Although if this sciatic condition persists, I'll be able
to review Ben Bradlee's new 800+ page biography of Ted Williams.
More drugs, Nancy, please!
Ain't life grand?
J
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